Aim To explore the effects of Lycium berry seed oil on Nrf2/ARE pathway and oxidative damage in testis of subacute aging rats. Methods Fifty out of 60 male SD rats, aged 8 weeks, were subcutaneously injected with 125 mg • kg"D-galactosidase in the neck for 8 weeks to establish a subacute senescent rat model. The presence of senescent cells was observed using P-galactosidase ((3-gal), while testicular morphology was examined using HE staining. Serum levels of testosterone (testosterone, T), follicle-stimulating hormone ( follicle stimulating hormone, FSH ) , luteinizing hormone ( luteinizing hormone, LH ) , superoxide dis-mutase ( superoxide dismutase, SOD ) , glutathione ( glutathione, GSH) and malondialdehyde ( malondial-dehyde, MDA) were measured through ELISA, and the expressions of factors related to aging, oxidative damage, and the Nrf2/ARE pathway were assessed via immunohistochemical analysis and Western blotting. Results After successfully identifying the model, the morphology of the testis was improved and the intervention of Lycium seed oil led to a down-regulation in the expression of [3-gal and -yH2AX. The serum levels of SOD, GSH, T, and FSH increased while MDA and LH decreased (P 0. 05) . Additionally, there was an up-regulated expression of Nrf2, GCLC, NQOl, and SOD2 proteins in testicular tissue ( P 0. 05 ) and nuclear expression of Nrf2 in sertoli cells. Conclusion Lycium barbarum seed oil may reduce oxidative damage in testes of subacute senescent rats by activating the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway.

To study the residue and dietary risk of propiconazole in Panax notoginseng and the effects on physiological and bioche-mical properties of P. notoginseng, we conducted foliar spraying of propiconazole on P. notoginseng in pot experiments. The physiolo-gical and biochemical properties studied included leaf damage, osmoregulatory substance content, antioxidant enzyme system, non-enzymatic system, and saponin content in the main root. The results showed that at the same application concentration, the residual amount of propiconazole in each part of P. notoginseng increased with the increase in the times of application and decreased with the extension of harvest interval. After one-time application of propiconazole according to the recommended dose(132 g·hm~(-2)) for P. ginseng, the half-life was 11.37-13.67 days. After 1-2 times of application in P. notoginseng, propiconazole had a low risk of dietary intake and safety threat to the population. The propiconazole treatment at the recommended concentration and above significantly increased the malondialdehyde(MDA) content, relative conductivity, and osmoregulatory substances and caused the accumulation of reactive oxygen species in P. notoginseng leaves. The propiconazole treatment at half(66 g·hm~(-2)) of the recommended dose for P. ginseng significantly increased the activities of superoxide dismutase(SOD), peroxidase(POD), and catalase(CAT) in P. notoginseng leaves. The propiconazole treatment at 132 g·hm~(-2) above inhibited the activities of glutathione reductase(GR) and glutathione S-transferase(GST), thereby reducing glutathione(GSH) content. Proconazole treatment changed the proportion of 5 main saponins in the main root of P. notoginseng. The treatment with 66 g·hm~(-2) propiconazole promoted the accumulation of saponins, while that with 132 g·hm~(-2) and above propiconazole significantly inhibited the accumulation of saponins. In summary, using propiconazole at 132 g·hm~(-2) to prevent and treat P. notoginseng diseases will cause stress on P. notoginseng, while propiconazole treatment at 66 g·hm~(-2) will not cause stress on P. notoginseng but promote the accumulation of saponins. The effect of propiconazole on P. notoginseng diseases remains to be studied.
Panax notoginseng/chemistry* ; Panax ; Antioxidants/pharmacology* ; Saponins/pharmacology* ; Glutathione ; Risk Assessment

Objective: To explore the effect of growth arrest-specific5 (GAS5) inhibition on the proliferation, colony formation, invasion, migration andepithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT), cancer cell stem of HCT-116 and its mechanism. Methods: The colorectal carcinoma (CRC) cell HCT116 was divided into blank control, negative control (NC), si-GAS5 and si-GAS5+ miR-21 inhibitor groups. The quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to test the expressions of miR-21 and GAS5 at 48 h after transfection. The binding site of GAS5 and miR-21 was determined by luciferase reporter array. Cell proliferation ability was detected by CCK-8 assay. Cell colony ability was detected by colony formation assay. Cell invasion and migration abilities were detected by Transwell assay. Cell cycle and apoptosis were examined by flow cytometer (FCM). The protein levels of EMT associated factors including Snail, N-cadherin, vimentin, E-cadherin, stem cell related factors including CD44, SOX2, Oct2, and PTEN/Akt signal pathway associated factors were examined by western blotting. Results: The expression levels of miR-21 in blank, NC, si-GAS5 group were 1.00±0.10, 1.00±0.10, 1.80±0.20, the absorbance values were 0.51±0.02, 0.50±0.01 and 0.65±0.01, the cell clones were 90±4, 91±5, 200±8, the invaded cells were 118±3, 119±3, 150±4, the migrated cells were 110±2, 108±2, 127±2, the cell ratios in G(1) phase were (49.3±2.1)%, (50.1±2.0)% and (42.2±1.1)%, the cell ratios in S phase were (19.2±1.2)%, (20.2±1.1)% and (28.3±2.2)%, the cell apoptotic ratios were (14.4±2.2)%, (14.5±2.1)% and (7.2±1.3)%. These results indicated that inhibition of GAS5 up regulated the expression level of miR-21, promoted cell proliferation, invasion and migration, decreased G(1)-phase cells and increased S-phase cells, and suppressed cell apoptosis (P<0.05). Moreover, inhibition of GAS5 up regulated the expressions of Snail, N-cadherin, vimentin, Sox2, CD44, Oct2 and p-Akt in HCT-116 cells (P<0.05), while down regulated the expressions of E-cadherin and PTEN (P<0.05). Inhibition of miR-21 reversed the impact of GAS5 knockdown on PTEN/Akt signaling pathway (P<0.05). Conclusion: GAS5 can act as a competing endogenous RNA for miR-21, and down regulation of GAS5 can promote the development of CRC by activating the miR-21/PTEN/Akt signaling pathway and promoting the acquisition of EMT and tumor cell stemness.
Humans ; Cadherins/metabolism* ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Movement/genetics* ; Cell Proliferation/genetics* ; Colorectal Neoplasms/pathology* ; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition/genetics* ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism* ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase/metabolism* ; Vimentin/metabolism*

In the context of the global pandemic of COVID-19, the epidemic intensity, epidemic characteristics and infection risk of influenza have presented new features. COVID-19 and influenza have simultaneously emerged in many regions of the world. COVID-19 and influenza are similar in terms of transmission mode, clinical symptoms and other aspects. There are also similarities in the mechanism of influenza virus and novel coronavirus on cells. At the same time, it is feasible and significant to do a good job in the prevention and control of COVID-19 and influenza. This paper discusses the relevant strategies and measures for the joint prevention and control of influenza and novel coronavirus from the aspects of influenza vaccination to prevent co-infection, simultaneous vaccination of influenza vaccine and novel coronavirus vaccine, etc., and puts forward corresponding thoughts and suggestions, in order to provide scientific support for the formulation of strategies on seasonal influenza vaccine and novel coronavirus vaccination.
Humans ; Influenza Vaccines ; Influenza, Human/epidemiology* ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; COVID-19/prevention & control* ; Seasons ; Vaccination ; SARS-CoV-2

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the serum microRNA (miRNA) expression and examine the impact of miRNA expression profiles on T helper type 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg) imbalance among patients with cystic echinococcosis, so as to provide insights into the illustration of the mechanisms underlying chronic Echinococcus granulosus infections, and long-term pathogenesis. METHODS: Total RNA was extracted from the sera of cystic echinococcosis patients and healthy controls, and subjected to high-throughput sequencing with the Illumina sequencing platform. Known miRNAs were annotated and new miRNAs were predicted using the miRBase database and the miRDeep2 tool, and differentially expressed miRNAs were identified. The target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted using the software miRanda and TargetScan, and the intersection was selected for Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs with the 20 highest fold changes, miRNAs that targeted genes relating to key transcription factors RORC and FOXP3 that determine the production of Th17 and Treg cells or their important regulatory pathways (PI3K-Akt and mTOR pathways) were matched. RESULTS: A total of 53 differentially expressed miRNAs were screened in sera of cystic echinococcosis patients and healthy controls, including 47 up-regulated miRNAs and 6 down-regulated miRNAs. GO enrichment analysis showed that these differentially expressed miRNA were involved DNA transcription and translation, cell components, cell morphology, neurodevelopment and metabolic decomposition, and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differentially expressed miRNA were mainly involved in MAPK, PI3K-Akt and mTOR signaling pathways. Among the differentially expressed miRNAs with the 20 highest fold changes, there were 3 miRNAs that had a potential for target regulation of RORC, and 15 miRNAs that had a potential to target the PI3K-Akt and mTOR signaling pathways. CONCLUSIONS Significant changes are found in serum miRNA expression profiles among patients with E. granulosus infections, and differentially expressed miRNAs may lead to Th17/Treg imbalance through targeting the key transcription factors of Th17/Treg or PI3K-Akt and mTOR pathways, which facilitates the long-term parasitism of E. granulosus in hosts and causes a chronic disease.
Echinococcosis/genetics* ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Humans ; MicroRNAs/metabolism* ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases/genetics* ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/genetics* ; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory ; TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases/genetics* ; Th17 Cells ; Transcription Factors/genetics*

To explore the potential molecular mechanism of Mongolian medicine Bawei Sanxiang San in the treatment of chronic heart failure(CHF) through network pharmacology and molecular docking technology. The active ingredients and potential targets of Bawei Sanxiang San were collected by applying TCMSP, BATMAN databases and literature mining. CHF-related genes were collected through TTD, GeneCards and CTD databases. After the potential common targets between Bawei Sanxiang San and CHF were disco-vered, the interaction network diagram of "compound-target-pathway" was constructed using Cytoscape. The intersecting targets were imported into the DAVID database for GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Finally, the Autodock_vina software was used to molecularly dock the selected proteins with the active ingredients of Bawei Sanxiang San. The results showed that there were 60 active ingredients in Bawei Sanxiang San that might be used to treat CHF, involving 311 target genes and 7 signaling pathways that directly related to CHF, such as HIF-1 signaling pathway, TNF signaling pathway, adrenergic signaling in cardiomyocytes, aldosterone-regulated sodium reabsorption, calcium signaling pathway, cGMP-PKG signaling pathway, renin secretion. Additionally, molecular docking showed that the bioactive compounds had good binding activity with the protein receptors of key target genes. Bawei Sanxiang San might exert therapeutic effects on CHF by regulating cardiomyocytes, angiogenic and inflammation related targets and pathways in a multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway manner.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Heart Failure/genetics* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Medicine, Mongolian Traditional ; Molecular Docking Simulation

High fat diet induced hyperlipidemia hamster model was used to explore the anti-hyperlipidemia effect of water extract of Moringa oleifera leaves( WEMOL). On this basis,the possible action mechanism was predicted by network pharmacology. Golden hamsters were randomly divided into normal diet group( NFD),high-fat diet group( HFD),simvastatin group,high dose group of WEMOL( HIWEMOL) and low dose group of WEMOL( LOWEMOL). The model was administered simultaneously for 66 days,during which the body weight changes of hamsters were recorded. At the end of the experiment,serum lipid level and serum transaminase level of golden hamsters in each group were detected,and the pathological changes of liver were observed by hematoxylin-eosin( HE) staining. The results showed that WEMOL could significantly decrease the serum total cholesterol( TC),total triglyceride( TG),low density lipoprotein cholesterol( LDL-c) levels,and reduce the lipid deposition in liver tissue,thus improving the hyperlipidemia of golden hamsters. According to the prediction of network pharmacology,219 targets of potential active components of M.oleifera leaves and 185 targets of water-soluble potential active components of M. oleifera leaves for the treatment of hyperlipidemia were obtained separately. The MCODE analysis was performed on the PPI network of 219 targets and 185 targets obtained above and got five and four clusters respectively. The signaling pathway analysis of clusters showed that among the common pathways,nonalcoholic fatty liver,insulin resistance,MAPK signaling pathway,estrogen signaling pathway,cell apoptosis and HIF-1 signaling pathway were associated with hyperlipidemia. In addition,the potential active components of M. oleifera leaves could also inhibit the metabolic inflammation of hyperlipidemia by modulating complement and coagulation cascades signaling pathway,and GSK3 B,F2,AKT1,RELA,SERPINE1 might be the key targets. The water-soluble potential active components of M. oliefera leaves could modulate lipid metabolism by modulating AMPK signaling pathway and JAK-STAT signaling pathway,with PIK3 CB,PIK3 CA,CASP3,AKT1 and BCL2 as the key targets. These results suggested that WEMOL had anti hyperlipidemia effect,and its mechanism might be related to the protein expression regulation of lipid metabolism,nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis related signaling pathways.
Animals ; Cricetinae ; Diet, High-Fat ; Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 ; Hyperlipidemias/drug therapy* ; Liver ; Moringa oleifera ; Plant Leaves

Humans ; Pruritus ; Somatosensory Cortex ; Spinal Cord

This study aimed to explore the optimal indications and mechanism of Uncariae Ramulus cum Uncis(UR)-Eucommiae Cortex(EC) in lowering blood pressure based on network pharmacology and molecular docking. Chemical constituents were collected and screened by TCMSP database. Swiss Target Prediction platform was used to predict the related targets of the drug. OMIM, TCMIP and GeneCards databases were used to collect hypertension-related genes, and the intersections were taken to obtain potential targets for anti-hypertensive treatment of UR-EC. FunRich software was used to enrich the clinical phenotype and expression site of potential target of lowering blood pressure to analyze and predict the optimal indications of UR-EC. STRING database was used for KEGG pathway enrichment analysis, and Cytoscape 3.7.2 was used to construct the network of "composition-target-pathway". The key targets and their corresponding components in the network were analyzed and obtained, and then molecular docking was applied for preliminary verification. Twenty potential active components of UR and 24 potential active components of EC were respectively collected, and 92 anti-hypertensive potential targets of UR-EC were obtained. According to FunRich enrichment results, the optimal indication of UR-EC was pregnancy hypertension, which involved calcium signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, neuroactive ligand receptor interaction, renin vascular tightening, VEGF signaling pathway, etc. In addition, AKT1, NOS2, ADRB2, F2, NOS3, SCN5 A, HTR2 A and JAK2 were considered as the key targets in the network. The molecular docking results showed that the screened potential active components had high binding activity with the key targets. This study preliminarily revealed that UR-EC may have therapeutic effects on pregnancy hypertension in terms of sedation, anti-hypertension, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, improvement of vascular endothelial function and so on.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/pharmacology* ; Humans ; Hypertension/genetics* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Pregnancy

A new method on functional orientation of Moringa leaves based on text mining and molecular docking was explored in the study. First, PubMedplus was used to analyze research data on Moringa leaves collected in PubMed and the indications of Moringa leaves were screened along with the hotspots and development tendency of Moringa leaves. Second, Arrowsmith was used to obtain the biological targets of Moringa leaves. Third, active candidate components of Moringa leaves were filtered by SwissADME analyzing on chemical data collected from literatures. Subsequently, molecular docking between active candidate component and target was studied by systemsDock to forecast the potential active components and their possible effective targets, and GO functional annotation of the potential targets was performed by DAVID database. According to the results, tumor, diabetes and digestive diseases were suggested to be indications of Moringa leaves, correlated with 25 active components and 12 potential effective targets possibly by adjusting G protein-coupled receptor and affecting on inflammatory reaction. The new method on functional orientation by combining text mining with molecular docking was successfully practiced on Moringa leaves as a case study,which provides a useful reference for the ultilization of foreign medicinal resource.
Data Mining ; Molecular Docking Simulation ; Moringa/chemistry* ; Plant Extracts/pharmacology* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry*